Works of Fire
by troopertrish
Summary: Ichigo accompanies a frightened Rukia as she acquaints herself with a little thing called "fireworks".


**Works of Fire**

Rukia watched the skies with awe, her eyes big and her mouth opened.

She and Ichigo were on their way home after battling a hollow when loud explosions startled her. She immediately ran towards the direction of the commotion, ignoring Ichigo's yells, telling her to "calm her ass down and wait for him". The sounds were unlike any hollow or military artillery she had ever heard. Upon landing on a roof high enough for her to have a view of the surrounding area, she looked up to the sky and saw the source of the ruckus.

What she saw took her breath away.

The sky was lit with fire in countless different colors. It was beautiful and terrifying to behold.

"Ichigo, what's happening? What's happening to the sky?" Rukia asked urgently, tugging on Ichigo's sleeve the moment he landed next to her.

"Calm it, midget!" he screamed, yanking his arm away from her, "this is why I told you to wait for me."

Another explosion went off, and when Rukia turned to look, she saw a brilliant blue fire dance across the night sky.

It entranced her, and frightened her.

"Ichigo, dammit, what's going on?!" she screamed as another set of explosion rang out in the distance, sending another wave of colorful bursts up into the heavens.

"There's some sort of festival in town. What's the date today? I forgo…" Ichigo halted when he glanced at Rukia and saw the look on her face. Her eyes were big, wild and unfocused; her mouth was open in horror; her head flicked left and right every second; and her hands, gripping her zanpakuto tightly, were shaking.

Was she afraid?

"What do we do, Ichigo?" Rukia whispered, her voice wavering.

It did not take long for Ichigo to figure it out.

"You've never seen fireworks before, haven't you?" he asked.

Rukia looked at him, bewildered. "Fireworks?"

Good gravy. Ichigo blinked. She's never seen fireworks.

It was just too adorable.

"Rukia, put you sword down." Ichigo said, gently pushing Rukia's hands down.

"Wha…Why? The sky…"

"…is completely fine, Rukia. There's nothing wrong. Those…" Ichigo pointed to the colorful bursts of fire, "…are called fireworks. People light them up during festivals and special occasions."

Rukia, who was still unsure whether or not the whole situation was safe, asked, "But…why?"

"Well, I guess the noise and the colors make them giddy and put them in the mood to celebrate, "Ichigo answered.

"Are they safe?"

"Yeah. As long as you keep your distance. Fireworks are something to look at, not _touch_."

Ichigo emphasized the last word when he saw Rukia gingerly reaching her hand out to the sky. She quickly pulled it back in.

"So…what now?" she asked.

An idea came to Ichigo. "Seeing as it's your first fireworks show, I thought maybe you'd like to get a better view. Come with me."

Both Shinigami's ran and jumped over rooftops until they reached a tall abandoned building where Ichigo told them to stop. The building, although old, stood taller than most other infrastructures in town.

"Give me your hand," Ichigo said, offering Rukia his hand, palm up.

"Excuse me?" Rukia answered, her brow raised.

"Just take it, midget." Ichigo retorted with a roll of his eyes.

Rukia took it, and Ichigo led her to the ledge. They had a view of the entire town. By then, the sky was ablaze with multitudes of colors.

Rukia watched the skies with awe, her eyes big and her mouth opened.

"Hey, wake a look there."

Rukia turned to look at where Ichigo was pointing. Below them, the streets were crowded with people. Almost all of them were holding slender sticks, and at the end of those sticks, bright lights burst out.

"Are those works of fire too, Ichigo?"

"Fireworks. Um…yeah, sort of…only smaller, like baby fireworks."

"Baby fireworks?" Rukia exclaimed, her purple eyes bright and her nose crinkling as she smiled, "I want one! I want to try holding a baby firework!"

Ichigo smiled at her eagerness. Eyeing the street, he spotted a man selling firecrackers. Unfortunately, none of them had brought any money along, so Rukia allowed Ichigo to "borrow" some baby fireworks and pay the man later. Ichigo had to hold Rukia's hand as he lit her firework; she was bouncing on her toes so much it made it hard for him to do so. When light started bursting out of her firework, Rukia squealed and laughed out loud. She stretched her arm away from her, raised the firework and started twirling around. Ichigo, on the other hand, stood still, quite content to watch her dance around with her baby firework.

He turned and glanced at the night sky. Colorful lights continued to explode against the horizon. But amidst the loud blasts, Rukia's laughter rang out, causing him to look back at her. For a seasoned Shinigami who belonged to an elite family and was known for her coldness and seriousness, Rukia looked every bit a carefree young woman who was just enjoying what she called works of fire.

Looking down at his own firework, Ichigo smiled to himself and decided to join Rukia.

* * *

**Hello Reader.**

**Thank you so much for granting me the honor of reading my very first fanfiction. I hope you like it.**

**so, grab some popcorn, a box of tissues (in case you dislike the story so much and end up crying in frustration), and leave some comments, reviews or suggestions. If you must swear, please do so using symbols (EX. #$%&amp;*!) **

**Thank you**


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